Bears Training Camp Battle Breakdown: Will Roschon Johnson be able to impress the staff or will Kyle Monangai push for the RB2 job?
Continuing on with the Chicago Bears training camp preview, today we will be diving into another positional battle on the offensive side of the ball.The first breakdown was at the left tackle position between Braxton Jones, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kiran Amegadjie. This next battle won't be for a starting job, per se, but it will […]
Continuing on with the Chicago Bears training camp preview, today we will be diving into another positional battle on the offensive side of the ball.
The first breakdown was at the left tackle position between Braxton Jones, Ozzy Trapilo, and Kiran Amegadjie. This next battle won't be for a starting job, per se, but it will still be a critical position in Ben Johnson's offense.
The next positional battle we will be focusing on is at running back, specifically the RB2 role behind D'Andre Swift.
There will be two players competing for the second spot in the backfield in Roschon Johnson and seventh-round rookie Kyle Monangai. Let's break down each player in the backfield, including a look at what's to be expected out of Swift, and then make a prediction for who we believe comes out on top in the backfield.
D'Andre Swift
Starting with Swift, the Bears are hoping to see two things out of their starting running back and that's consistency and efficiency. The new coaching staff understands Swift can be a homerun hitter and big play threat any time the ball is in his hands.
Back in 2022, Johnson used Swift in a similar way in Detroit, but spelled him with a physical player in Jamaal Williams. Last season, Swift handled 58.7% of the Bears' touches on the ground and finished with a career-low 3.8 yards per attempt. His career-best in that category was in 2022 while having Johnson as his play-caller.
The other concerns with Swift is whether or not he can handle some tough carries and be able to hold his own in pass protection to help keep defenses honest.
"For him right now, it’s about the tracks on all of our run game, being consistent and true to that," Johnson said. "And the pass pro is a little bit new for him, as well."
Roschon Johnson
The leading back behind Swift is Johnson heading into camp, but it's closer than people think. Johnson is entering into his third season with the Bears and saw his carries get cut by over 50% from Year 1 to Year 2 despite playing in one less game.
Johnson brings power to the Bears' ground attack, but not much beyond that. During the 2024 season, Johnson was the team's battering ram on short-yardage and goal line looks. Outside of that he never saw the field, playing just 28% of the snaps.
Johnson still brings value to the table in his role and could bounce back with a different staff, but so far the actual coaches have kept Johnson's impact and progress in the dark. We'll see if we can hear more about him in camp, because general manager Ryan Poles seems to be expecting some more out of him in 2025.
"Roschon, really looking forward to him playing a physical brand of football that we know he has," Poles said. "I think kind of that role was a little bit out of whack last year. I think he's going to have more of a physical role"
Kyle Monangai
Now, let's add the rookie into the mix. Monangai had an impressive college career at Rutgers, a program known to produce some physical backs.
He brings that similar style of play but what really sets him apart in the backfield is his ability to pass protect, something his head coach will favor when choosing who to give opportunities to during the season.
Monangai also had high reviews from RB coach Eric Bieniemy and now is receiving the tough coaching from him. Offensive coordinator Declan Doyle noted there's some areas to coach up in Monangai's game but added that the rookie's mentality tends to give players a great shot to succeed. Here's what Johnson added on the final day of rookie minicamp after naming Monangai as a standout.
"Kyle Monangai has really stepped up," Johnson said at the end of minicamp. "I appreciate the attention to detail and the pride he takes and how quickly he’s picking things up."
So, who's getting the job?
It certainly seems like Monangai as all the momentum going into training camp to be the second back in this offense based on everything we've heard from the top offensive coaches.
Even still, I wouldn't write off Johnson's impact until we actually hear something about him from the staff and see what the pecking order actually looks like.
At the end of the day, I think Monangai brings more to the table for this offense than Johnson and I can see him getting more opportunities behind Swift because of that.
Bears Training Camp Battle Breakdown: Can Braxton Jones return and keep his job at LT or will Ozzy Trapilo’s momentum continue to rise?
Most important battle on the roster.
